Of Legends and Ancients
by Skipper311
Summary: Not every story is an epic. Not every legend is ancient. But if you'll lend your ear, you'll hear an amazing tale all the same.
1. As Different as Night and Day

Leona stood at the gates. She could never have foreseen this. She had seen a lot of things in her time with the League, but she never would have even suspected something like this would happen. She felt bad about leaving the League without its champion of the sun, but… she had to do this. To think, it was all started by that new champion….

* * *

Balanar tore into the flesh of some unsightly beast. It howled and dug its own teeth back into him. Growling, Balanar gripped his prey with his claws and sunk them into its throat, slowly killing the creature as he forced it to the ground. As the last death gurgles subsided, Balanar began eating. Well, if you could call indiscriminately tearing into a carcass "eating." This was a normal series of events for Balanar.

But there was something strange about tonight, yet Balanar could not quite determine _what_. He had this… foreboding sensation that _something_ was coming.

The night continued on as it always did, the sounds and howls of the creatures of the night fighting for survival under the twin moons. Hours later Balanar passed the feeling off as nothing of any importance. Yet again, looking at the two moons in the sky, Balanar felt _something_ again. Unconvinced, he continued to stalk in the night.

Suddenly, a searing pain threw him to the ground, blind. He roared in agony, a roar that was echoed by every other living beast.

* * *

It was some time before Balanar could get up and open his eyes. When he did, he instantly regretted it, as the light burned his eyes, forcing him to close them and blink several times. When he finally adjusted, he saw a world that was as different as night and day.

Light – accursed light – poured over the land. Where there had been once deep shadows were mere specks of greying. Gone were the terrifying beasts of the night, replaced with still, soon to be rotting, corpses.

Balanar roared, his cry echoing into the vastness. Nothing. Again, he roared. Nothing. Again. Nothing. Then Balanar took a look to the fireball in the sky, and roared one more time.

His stomach grumbled, and, near begrudgingly, he set out to eat. Not like there was a shortage of food. Balanar picked the closest carcass, and found it was not quite a carcass just yet, the beast still groaning. Suddenly, it looked at him, and spoke.

"Why do you want to join the League?"

After a short pause, Balanar responded by taking a bite out of the dying beast. It made no grunt, no cry of pain.

"How does it feel, exposing your mind?"

Another pause, this one with an annoyed look. This time, Balanar took another bite – of the beast's throat. Moments after he did, the creature faded, and so too did the world around him. Now before him stood a pair of doors that slowly opened. Balanar walked through.

* * *

Leona stood, looking over the rosters for the coming match. There was a new champion debuting today, and Leona had to confess to a little bit of excitement. His name was Balanar, although she hadn't been able to gleam much else before she was summoned. The enemy team otherwise consisted of regulars: Jinx, Janna, Nidalee, Diana…

Diana.

Leona shook her head. Now was not the time to be pre-occupied with personal matters. She would beat Diana today, merely as her duty. There was a new champion here today, after all, and Leona had every intention of making a good first impression. She surveyed the rest of her team. The sunglasses didn't help, but she had a feeling Vayne didn't care. Darius, who probably wouldn't have cared one way or another. Sejuani, probably didn't care. Lux… well, maybe she did care. But the gates had gone down, and with wordless nods with Vayne, they set off.

"You're the new meat, huh? Well, I'm going make mincemeat out of you."

Balanr growled but said nothing. Truth be told, this Darius character had been giving him quite a hard time. Every time he tried to approach the creep – ahem, minion – wave, he found himself chopped at, sliced up, and bled out. It had nearly reduced him to snarling from afar, and his opponent was clearly enjoying himself rubbing it in. Still, he hadn't died yet, and the worst was yet to come... for Darius. The real difficulty was dealing with his Summoner. The man apparently thought himself wiser than someone older than the sun itself, and Balanar was rather sick of his attitude. Pity he couldn't kill him. After _the War_ , Balanar really had his fill of others telling him what to do.

"Really, I don't know why they gave me _you_ when they knew _he_ was my opponent. Quite frankly, you've been completely useless. Why even–"

"Then watch." Taken aback by Balanar's sudden statement, the summoner quieted, and Balanar could hear the shock.

For a brief moment, Darius' eyes met Balanar's. Then, a small smile appeared on Balanar's face.

"Roll back the light."

Darius barely had time to comprehend that it had gotten dark before Balanar was upon him. Instinctively he lashed out with his axe, but sliced nothing but air. Balanar returned the favor by cutting his own claws into Darius' armor. Another swipe, and this time they cut into flesh. Darius swung one more, and this time his axe met flesh. Roaring, Balanar pounded his foe with the Void once more, and watched him fall.

* * *

The first thing Leona noticed was the sun was gone. Gone. Gone, like someone had plucked it out of the sky or smothered it until it burned out. It didn't make sense. How, where, why could the sune just disappear? How could it… stop calling to her? Stop… answering to her?

"What… what black magic is this?" Leona shot a glance at Vayne, who was clearly unnerved as well. The two instinctively backed towards their own turret, on alert. Yet, it seemed even their opponents were shocked as well; Jinx and Janna had both backed off… well, Janna had.

And as suddenly as the darkness had fallen, it vanished, as if nothing had happened. Well, almost nothing.

"An ally has been slain."

Chatter among their summoners revealed Darius had died. Died to the new top laner. The new top laner who had said, "Roll back the light."

Leona suddenly felt a lot less enthusiastic about meeting the new champion.

* * *

Balanar grumbled as he looked through the shopkeeper's wares. All these strange weapons and armaments. For a moment, Balanar wished he had the old familiar items like Armlet of Mordiggian. But there was little point in dwelling on that now.

After throwing his claws up for the third time, the shopkeeper decided to intervene.

"Might I interest you in a Nashor's Tooth?"

Balanar gave the small… furry… thing a look. To its credit, it didn't flinch.

"It will empower both your magic and your claws. I think you'd like it."

Picking the blade up and trying it in his claws, he found it satisfactory and gave the shopkeeper his gold.

* * *

She wouldn't have shown it, but Leona was starting to have a small panic attack. What had started as spots of night between the day was turning into spots of day between the night. It wasn't that Leona was afraid of the dark, but the sun seemed so far away, especially in this magically-induced night.

Speak of the devil, night had fallen once more, and Leona had to be on her guard once more. Despite her personal protest, the summoners decided to try to kill the dragon. At this point, it didn't take all five, so only Leona and Vayne moved towards the pit.

They had almost finished slaying it, when suddenly _it_ appeared. From behind, the two had to start running, since the whole enemy team was there. They managed to escape, thankfully, except from _it_. _It_ kept running, kept chasing. _It_ was impossibly fast, wings impossibly wide, maw impossibly _terrifying_. Eventually, the trio was so removed from the rest of the enemy team that Leona and Vayne went for a counter kill.

Except they never got the chance. Leona could barely stand to watch it; she saw Vayne pulled by, torn apart by a void that seemed to lead into an impossible darkness. She saw Vayne near frozen in shock, in fear, then firing wildly but never landing. She could only keep running, she only heard Vayne's final cries. But she could hear _its_ footsteps, ever closer, ever nearer–

"Augh! Sunshine!"

Leona turned to see the beast, a smaller, more possible form of its former self. Her team was now behind her. She could hear, touch, _feel_ the sun and now – now was her chance! She called to the sun, and it answered, sunlight striking down, smiting the beast. It howled in pain and fury.

Suddenly, she felt herself plunged into darkness, but only briefly. When she recovered, she saw the beast's retreating form.

* * *

At the fountain, Balanar knew she was watching him. He hadn't bothered to ask, but the girl with the moon markings was clearly interested in him.

"That's Diana, the Scorn of the Moon."

Balanar grumbled. "So you're back." He paused as he began his return to battle. "You might as well be useful. Tell me about this Diana."

He could hear the summoner's shrug. "Not a whole lot is known, quite frankly. She belonged to a clan called the Solari – a tribe of warriors that worship the sun. They have their own champion here, Leona." Balanar mused over the solar warrior as the summoner continued.

"But Diana was different. She always preferred the moon to the sun, and was always looking for proof of its importance. Of course, she was shunned for her beliefs. Nevertheless, she continued to study old Solari texts, that eventually led her to a hidden temple. In it, she found relics with lunar symbols.

"She returned, hoping to finally be vindicated. Instead, she was branded a heretic and sentenced to death. In her final moments before her execution, she asked the moon for strength, and it answered, giving her the power to break free and kill the elders. Now, she wages a crusade against those who would deny the moon's power, or so she says." At first, Balanar made no reply.

"Were you even listening?" Again, silence. Then, a single, simple muttering.

"Curse that Selemene and her followers…."

* * *

It was over. Well, not quite yet, but the writing was clearly on the wall. By now, night hung in perpetuity, and Leona, quite frankly, could not wait for this match to be over. But she would fight to the bitter end, as was her duty.

In the fray, she managed to lock eyes, for a split second, with Diana. That was all she needed to see: Diana was _loving_ this. She hadn't looked so happy in years. She… She wouldn't, would she? Leona wished the answer was "no," but she knew better.

A sharp, stabbing pain drew her from her thoughts. Her vision cleared to see _it_ right over her, barely visibly against the black night sky. There was nothing to be done. She felt her life leave her moments before the nexus shattered.

* * *

"Diana, I know what you're thinking, and it is a bad idea." Leona, despite her measured, brisk pace, frantically, desperately chased after the Scorn of the Moon.

"You can't stop me, Leona."

"Diana please, if not my sake then yours, just stop and think!"

"I was there, Leona," Diana said, still walking, not stopping. "Do you think I wouldn't notice?"

"Diana, I know– "

"Eternal night, Leona. You can't keep me from this!"

"Diana!" Leona near lunged, grabbing, gripping Diana's shoulder. That stopped her. Leona turned Diana around, grabbed both her arms. "Please. You saw that, didn't you? You saw the way that-that _thing_ tore people apart. Is _that_ what you want people to think about when they think of the night?"

"I was branded a _heretic_ , Leona! I was thrown out of my home!"

"You murdered the elders!"

"I was going to die, I had no choice! I– "

"Diana!" Leona shook Diana… or maybe it just happened because she was shaking herself, her own breaths ragged. She found unshed tears in her eyes. "Please… don't do this."

It was then Leona noticed the wetness in Diana's own eyes. "If this, this is the only way for people to finally respect my cause… so be it." Quietly, slowly, Leona let go, and Diana turned around once more and started to walk away.

"…I'm coming with you."

Diana stopped and turned her head, her eyes now wide, mouth open in shock. "What?"

"If you are determined to do this… I'm coming with you."

Diana paused, expression still surprised, then turned around once more and continued. Leona followed.

* * *

"Not afraid of the dark, are you?" Balanar chuckled. He didn't need to turn around to know he had company.

"I need to know… how did you do that?" Ahh, so it was the moon-girl. He turned to face her.

"You brought the sun warrior?"

"I came here myself, thank you very much." Balanar scowled. Turning, he allowed himself to vanish into the darkness, his presence still palpable.

"Who are you? I need to know!"

Behind the veil of blackness, Balanar cracked a smile. "There are no stories about me… only legends…."

* * *

Leona stood at the gates, Diana by her side. Yes, this was all started by that new champion.

 _"If you want to know the moon better… there is a temple dedicated to its service."_

"You don't have to come, you know."

"You're right. I don't _have_ to. I… have my own reasons for being interested."

 _"And if you're lucky, sun warrior… perhaps you'll get to meet the sun, too."_

As the two set off, Leona found herself wondering what exactly they were getting into. But that wasn't important right now. After all, she could hear the sun calling.

* * *

This wasn't supposed to be this long! Anyway, because I can't write a proper longform story, I'm going to do a bunch of short stories instead. They'll probably be canon within each other, unless I decide otherwise, but they won't necessarily be connected.

Yes, this is the unofficial death knell of Wrath of the Wraith. I simply don't like the direction I've written myself into with that story. Perhaps I shall start another epic one day, but not today.

Fun Fact: At 40% cooldown reduction, Darkness has a 48 second cooldown and a 50 second duration.


	2. Wind, Water, and Steel

Nami sat on the beach, far away from the normal public grounds. The pale moonlight shone upon her. This was her private place, where she went to relax and reflect on her continued search for a moonstone. How many days, months, years had passed since she first set out? She looked up at the moon. Futilely, she gazed at it, hoping against hope it would give her some clue, some sign. Finally, she let out a sigh, and cast her eyes to the ground.

Had the waves been louder, she might not have heard footsteps. She turned, surprised. Precious few guests came to join her, fewer unannounced. Who her guest was surprised her further. She had not expected the new champion to come join her. He seemed closed to conversation, so Nami turned away and continued to gaze out into the sea. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her companion, standing, doing the same.

* * *

"Why do you want to join the League?"

A pause. "So I can shatter it one day."

"You think that will encourage us to let you in?"

Another pause, this one shorter. "It is not your decision to make."

Sven looked upon the doors before him. They did not open. That did not concern him.

With a cry, he gripped the handles and pushed. The doors did not move. With a shout, he pushed again. This time, the doors shook. With one final cry, he channeled the might that shattered the Sacred Helm, and forced the door open, and walked through. He paid no mind as the doors closed behind him.

"You're just going to let him in!? Are you nuts? He just said he plans to destroy the League!"

"Please. We have over a hundred champions loyal or coercible to our cause. Besides, if he is here, all the easier to keep an eye on him."

"…Those doors open _outward_ , you know."

* * *

Sven strolled through the open grounds of the League, casually taking note of the various other champions. There certainly were some… characters here. A cheer erupted from a nearby stadium. Without any other direction or plans, Sven decided to see what the excitement was about.

Inside, the grandstands were packed. Champion-reserved seating was provided, however, and Sven took a seat. A match was being played, a match of some war sport on a field that looked strangely familiar.

"Yes! Take that, you filthy, toxic piece of –" Sven turned his head at the sudden outburst beside him, and saw a woman, clothed in wraps and bandages, and tarnished pieces of armor. By her side, the remains of a blade, though still formidable in size.

She must have noticed his movement, because she turned to face him, surprised.

How had she not heard this man sit next to her? This guy was massive! Not to mention covered in armor.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you. I'm Riven." She extended her hand. "You're the new champion, right?"

"Indeed. My name is Sven." He turned his attention to the field. "Are you cheering for one side?"

She let out a slight laugh. "No, not really. More like I'm rooting against one side – one guy in particular. See that guy with the big shield? Trail of gas behind him? He and I… I don't like him." If he had any further curiosity, she couldn't see it. Granted, part of that was because of his helmet, but still.

The two went on to watch the match, with Sven regularly asking for clarification on what was happening. Riven was privately surprised. For a champion, even a newly-inducted one, he knew surprisingly little about how matches on the Fields of Justice worked.

After the match, the two went their separate ways. It would not be long until she saw Sven fighting on the Fields of Justice.

* * *

"This is your honor?" Sven clashed blades with Garen once more, his voice raised in incredulity.

"My one and only duty is to Demacia and justice." Neither pulled back; both struck furiously. "It is the duty of every Demacian citizen to see justice prevail over greed and selfishness."

"Your honor is born of mere adherence to a code set by your country?" Garen ducked under another cleaving blow.

"That is the only honor that matters. A man with no loyalty is no man at all. He has nothing to prove his worth." Sven brought his blade against Garen's and forced it back. For a brief moment, the two stood across each other, eyes locked.

"A man that must prove himself to someone else will always be shackled to another. I have no regard for a knight that follows blindly."

"I am not hindered by blindness, but guided by my devotion to justice."

"Then by the Shattered Helm, I shall see you fall." Two cries echoed into the Fields of Justice, and two blades met once more.

* * *

He was here again, this mysterious fellow. He would stand, or occasionally sit with her. By now, she had grown used to it, and would not even flinch at his now-familiar footsteps. The two found themselves looking into the dusky sky against the open sea. The faint image of the moon, no longer hidden by the blinding sun, now peeked in the night sky.

Suddenly, she swore she heard him mutter something. It was so sudden and faint she thought she must have imagined it.

"It's been too long… since I've swam."

There is was again! This time, she turned to look at him. His face – well, helmet – betrayed nothing as he stood there. Then, he took a step towards the water, then another. Soon, he was at the water's edge, about to go in–

"Wait! You can't possibly swim in all that armor!"

He chuckled. "I probably should take it off." Then he jumped in, feet first, into the deep.

Frozen in panic for a mere second, she sprang from her resting place and leaped after him into the water. It was not until she was in the water she realized she would not be able to save him anyway; he was almost assuredly too heavy for her to lift back onto land. It was too late to go back for help, however, so Nami pushed on and swam after his falling form.

When she finally caught sight of him, she feared the worst. He wasn't flailing, near motionless, bubbles slowly rising from his form. She rushed to his side, gripped his arm in a futile attempt to bring him back to the surface. Then, calmly, he pulled his arm back and turned to face her–

Wait. Pulled his arm back and turned to face her?

"Ahh, so you can swim."

Nami spluttered. "Wh-What? You're underwater! How can you talk?"

"How are you talking?" he replied, calmly, no sarcasm, no pomp.

"I have gills." He remained unmoved, continuing to slowly sink. "You… you have gills? But where?" Another set of bubbles rose from his neck, from a small opening in his armor. "…Oh."

With that, he turned himself downward, and with a stroke, swam even deeper. Nami couldn't help but follow.

* * *

"Here's your key, sir. Have a good night."

Sven made the short walk to his room. It was quiet now. Night had fallen. He opened the door. It was a small room, but that was all he needed. He lay his sword against the bedside table. Then came the slow, long process of taking his armor off. For a brief moment, he considered sleeping in his armor. He'd done it before. Nevertheless, he began.

His mind wandered to his days under the Vigil Knights. There had been squires to help remove his armor, back then. Armor had to be removed piece by piece, and often was in awkward places to remove by oneself. He had since gotten adept at removing his armor by himself.

Another thunk as another piece of armor hit the floor. Thankfully, his armor was tough enough that it wouldn't be so easily dented. It was his only company in the otherwise silent night.

Finally, the last pieces of armor were off. He lay down in the bed. It was okay. He'd slept on harder. He gazed at the ceiling, or perhaps past it. In the stillness, he recited from his code.

 _"Honor comes not in victory_

 _But in life lived right_

 _And death in fight."_

Another.

" _My blade is the manifestation of my strength._

 _My shield is the manifestation of my will._

 _My body is the manifestation of my honor."_

Another.

" _Great is our toil. Little is our reward._

 _Great is our burden. Little is our help._

 _Great is our duty. Little is our respect._

 _We are knights not despite these things, but because these things."_

And as sleep slowly claimed him, one last thought drifted.

 _Bitter the orphan's journey, and lonely the orphan's grave._

* * *

Riven sat on a bench and looked up into the night sky. Although there was another League-sponsored gathering tonight, Riven had no plans to attend. She had few friends and… more than a few enemies. Not that she wasn't used to be being alone – she exiled herself by choice, after all.

With little else to do, she made her way to the approved training grounds. Improve. That had been her mantra, her purpose back in Noxus. It was still her purpose. She pushed through the open gate, and stepped into a clearing. It had to be her purpose. She didn't have much else to fight for. She hefted her blade.

The sound of the not-so-quiet gate against the silence broke her concentration. She turned to see him again – Sven, was it? He gave her a nod of acknowledgement and she returned the gesture. She turned her attention back to her exercises. Step, blow. Step, block. Turn, blow. Step, strike. In the corner of her mind, she heard another blade. She heard it cut through the air, and then into one dummy, and then another.

She found her steps moving towards him, his towards her. The next time they swung their blades, they met. Their eyes met. They nodded.

"You didn't go to the party?" Riven stared at Sven through the cross made by their crossed blades.

Sven chuckled. "They tried to make me. Tried." They pulled their blades away, and began their dance anew.

Riven lunged forward, blade lashing out, calling the wind to protect her. She inwardly smiled as Sven's blade deflected off the wind whipping around her. Another strike, blade striking his chestplate, but she barely gets a flinch out of him. She slid past him, ran her blade across his waist. He only turned to face her, and she narrowly ducks under another mighty swing.

Rising, Riven coursed runic energy through her blade, slamming Sven as she released it. This rattled him, made him stumble back. In that blink, brief moment, Riven drove her blade into Sven's chest, forcing him back further.

A pause.

"You're good." Riven accepts the complement with a nod.

"You're not bad either."

A roar from Sven, and Riven charged back in. He whipped his left hand out in a hook, and just as quickly Riven dashed back. But his gauntlet glows golden, and a shining fist followed her. It slammed into her, shook her to her core. Her vision swam. Her vision recovered after the flat of Sven's blade slammed into her side, sending her tumbling, sprawled out on the ground.

When she stood, Sven was already standing, towering over her, and she narrowly rolled away from his falling blade. His blade followed her, and she deflected it with her own.

Pause.

A smirk appeared on Riven's face. "Don't hold back."

He scoffed. "As if I need to let go against a foe with a broken sword."

"Don't you know? What is broken can be reforged." Her blade appeared, complete in its glory. The wind now blew, tore around her, tore some of the posts and dummies out of the ground.

His response was a roar that shook the ground, as his form changed from blue to red. "Come then, and face the one who shattered the Sacred Helm!" Riven answered his challenge.

* * *

One visitor was strange enough, but two – that, that was unheard of. And yet, it was becoming a strangely common occurrence. Not just the fish-man in armor – Sven – but now the girl with the wind-sword – Riven, that was her name – came.

Sometimes they were quiet, and looked out into the sea with her. The first time Riven has joined them, it was… awkward. Not in a mean or bad sense, per say, but in a new, uncomfortable way. But her more recent appearances had been much better – not more vocal nor lighter, but better all the same.

Her thoughts drifted back to why she, Nami, came here so often. It used to be a common occurrence, but recently, she found herself thinking about other things. Sven's latest travels. Riven's recent matches. She wasn't sure that she had gotten so distracted was a good or bad thing. She sighed inwardly.

Apparently, she had sighed outwardly as well, because both Riven and Sven had turned to look at her?

Riven spoke first. "Something on your mind?"

"It's just… it's been so long… and I still haven't found a moonstone… I almost feel bad because I've let myself get sucked into so many things… that haven't helped."

"Is that it?" Nami couldn't place if that was confusion or incredulity on Sven's voice. "Well, if that's all, then it's settled. We set out first thing tomorrow."

His statement, declaration shocked Nami, and it apparently shocked Riven too. "But why, so suddenly?"

"Why not?"

Nami found that good enough reasoning for her, and Riven seemed to agree.

* * *

Sven stood, the gates behind him, Riven and Nami at his sides. In the end, Sven hadn't made good on his promise to bring the League down – not yet, anyway.

"Are you ready?" he heard Riven ask Nami.

"As ready as I'll ever be." He could hear the smile in her voice.

With a nod, the three set out. It was strange, really, he had to reflect. A ex-Noxian, a fish-woman, and a knight. Not the most obvious of companions. But they were companions. Companions he had found, forged bonds with. He chuckled.

Bitter is the orphan's journey… no more.

* * *

This chapter marks something rather important. This is the last chapter that will use the canon of Summoners and the League of Legends proper. The previous chapters aren't completely retconned, though. The general gist will remain in continuity with the coming chapters.


End file.
